GE 2017 delivers a hung Parliament

Prime Minister Theresa May has said she intends to form a new government with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party following the GE 2017 results.

She says the new set up would provide certainty during a “critical time” for the United Kingdom.

This is some of what we know so far from the election results –

Across the UK, no party has won an overall majority. With seven seats left to declare, the Conservatives are expected to get 318 seats and Labour 262. Theresa May is expected to make a speech this morning amid calls for her resignation. The SNP has returned the most seats in Scotland, but has suffered heavy losses including of some of the party’s key players. Please find a spreadsheet of the Scottish results attached.

Former SNP Leader and Westminster International Affairs spokesperson, Alex Salmond, lost his seat. Colin Clark took the Gordon Constituency with a majority of 2,607. It is the first time Mr Salmond has not held elected office since 1987. Speaking afterwards, he said he was grateful to have represented the area and highlighted its diversity. He noted the SNP had suffered losses across Scotland, but praised the fact that it had still won the majority of seats north of the border. He contrasted this with the Conservative results in the rest of the UK, adding that the SNP would use its “substantial influence” in the next Parliament to oppose the Conservatives. He concluded by stating “you haven’t seen the last of me.”

SNP Depute Leader, Angus Robertson, lost his seat to the Conservative’s Douglas Ross. Mr Robertson was defending a 9,065 majority but lost to Mr Ross by 4,159 votes. Mr Ross, a regional MSP, will now head to Westminster. The next Conservative on the Highlands & Islands regional list is Jamie Halcro Johnston, who stood in the General Election for Orkney and Shetland.

Ross Thomson gained Aberdeen South for the Conservatives with a majority of 4,752. Another Conservative regional MSP, Mr Thompson will now head to Westminster. The next name on the North East regional list for Holyrood is Nicola Ross, who stood in the local authority elections as an independent. That means, following the election of Kirstene Hair and Colin Clark, that Tom Mason is the next name on the list who is still a member of the party. Mr Mason is the tenth and final name on the North East list, meaning if the party loses another list MSP before the Holyrood election, the seat will remain empty. Callum McCaig (SNP) came in second, with 31.5% of the vote

Ian Murray held Edinburgh South for Labour with the largest majority of the night, 15,514, and 54.9% of the vote. Former MSP Jim Eadie followed with 22.5% of the vote, a decrease of 11.3% for the SNP. Elsewhere John Lamont took Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirkfor the Conservatives, the constituency he resigned his Holyrood seat to contest. He received another of the largest majorities with 11,060. Overall it has been a result with a number of tiny majorities, Pete Wishart held Perth & North Perthshire for the SNP by only 21 and Stephen Gethins held North East Fife by just 2 votes.

Former coalition cabinet minister, Jo Swinson, won East Dunbartonshire, a seat she previously held from 2005 to 2015. The Liberal Democrat gained the seat from the SNP’s John Nicolson with a majority of 5,339.

New Faces in Scotland

Conservatives

Colin Clark defeated Alex Salmond in Gordon with a majority of 2,607.

Douglas Ross won Moray with a majority of 4,159.

Ross Thomspon won Aberdeen South with a majority of 4,752.

John Lamont took Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk, the constituency he resigned his Holyrood seat to contest. He received one of the largest majorities of the night with 11,060, ahead of Calum Kerr (SNP) whose share of the vote dropped by 3.8%.

Bill Grant won Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock with a majority of 2,774, defeating the SNP’s Corri Wilson whose share of the vote dropped by 14.7%.

Paul Sweeney has unseated Anne McLaughlin (SNP) in Glasgow North East. Labour and the Conservatives (who finished third) increased their share of the vote by 9% and 8% respectively.

Martin Whitfield gained East Lothian from George Kerevan (SNP) with a majority of 3,083.

Lesley Laird gained Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath, Gordon Brown’s former seat, with a majority of 259. The SNP’s Roger Mullin came in second, with his share of the vote dropping by 16%.

Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill will be represented by Hugh Gaffney, who gained the seat from Phil Boswell (SNP) with a majority of 1, 586.

Liberal Democrat

Former coalition cabinet minister, Jo Swinson, won East Dunbartonshire, a seat she previously held from 2005 to 2015. The Liberal Democrat gained the seat from the SNP’s John Nicolson with a majority of 5339.

Serial candidate Christine Jardine has secured Edinburgh West with a majority of 2,988. The seat had been held by the controversial former SNP MP Michelle Thomson, who did not contest the election. Toni Giugliano (SNP) came in second with 28.6% of the vote.

SNP

David Linden was the lone SNP gain, for Glasgow East, with a small majority of 75 and 38.8% of the vote. The seat was previously held by former SNP turned independent MP, Natalie McGarry, who did not contest the election. Labour’s Kate Watson followed closely behind with 38.6% of the vote. Ettrick, Roxburgh & Berwickshire by-election Rachael Hamilton (Con) has won the Ettrick, Roxburgh & Berwickshire seat at the Scottish Parliament.

Comment

First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said she would “reflect on the result” of the election and that it would be wrong to make a “rash” pronouncement about the party’s plans for a second referendum. She said that the election was a “disaster” for Prime Minister, Theresa May, and repeated that the SNP would be open to working with Labour Leader, Jeremy Corbyn, in Government. She admitted that she was “disappointed” at the SNP losses, but noted that the party had entered the 2015 with only six seats and had never achieved more than 11 sears prior to 2015.

Scottish Conservative Leader, Ruth Davidson, said the SNP had lost seats due to the decision to try and “ram through” a second referendum, stating that “indyref2 is dead.” Pressed on her party’s performance in the rest of the UK, she said it was too early to speculate on the final result. Asked if people had voted for her party purely due to its opposition to independence, Ms Davidson said that the Conservatives had demonstrated they could win over voters and participate in the policy debate, but that the “big issue” of the election was the prospect of a second referendum and this had dominated ordinary policy discussions.

Speaking as the results came in, Scottish Labour Leader, Kezia Dugdale, welcomed the election of new Labour MPs. She said:

“We’ve got a fantastic new generation of MPs going to the House of Commons. They’re going to be champions for their local communities, they’re going to be opposed to a second independence referendum, and they’re also going to be for Jeremy Corbyn’s anti-austerity platform and for raising investment in our public services. I’m hugely encouraged by results across the country tonight… The SNP vote is crumbling in their heartlands. Look at what’s happening in Glasgow; look at what’s happening across the west. It’s a very bad night for the SNP.”

Labour Leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said he was “honoured and humbled” by the size of his local majority in Islington. He said that politics in the UK had fundamentally changed, and “would not go back into the box”. The Labour leader said he was proud of his party’s campaign, stating that people were voting for hope and against austerity. He called on Prime Minister, Theresa May, to resign, stating that she had lost seats, support and confidence.

“With just a few weeks’ notice, and without the large financial backing available to other parties, Greens can be proud of the tightly-focused campaign we ran. We look to the fact that Caroline Lucas did not build the foundations for a winning campaign in Brighton overnight; it took years of dedication that started back in 1997. We are in this for the long haul.”

Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell, emphasised that Theresa May was “still the best leader” for the upcoming Brexit negotiations. He called on all UK parties, as well as the Scottish Government, to work to form a “united front” for those negotiations.

Scottish Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, Alistair Carmichael, thanked the people of Orkney and Shetland for putting their trust in the “warm and inclusive values of Liberalism”. He said “the people have spoken” across the UK, and that it was clear there was “no appetite” for a second independence referendum and that this should be “taken off the table.” He indicated that “good faith” between political parties would be needed in the future, as individual parties would struggle to “get their own way” given the political context.

Elsewhere in the UK

Labour held the seat of West Bromwich East in the with Tom Watson taking 58% of the vote, a 7.8% increase from 2015.

Former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg lost his seat as Labour’s Jared O’Mara took Sheffield Hallam.